Employers in Ireland should look beyond traditional means of attracting staff and retaining talent, particularly for prospective employees with critical skills, according to a survey from Willis Towers Watson (WTW).
The survey of 1,640 companies, employing nearly 12m people, identified that attraction and retention of staff remains a major concern for companies, with 70% of respondents expecting difficulties in finding employees in 2022, compared to 54% in 2021 and 37% in 2020.
Globally, the proportion of companies retaining difficulties in attracting staff has reached 61%, compared to 46% in early 2021 and 27% in 2020, with digital, sales, and people analytics roles the most difficult to fill.
Sarah McDonough, employee experience leader in the UK and Ireland at WTW, commented: "This research is very informative and in many ways mirrors what we are seeing here in Ireland. Employers in Ireland are currently experiencing significant challenges in recruiting and retaining talent, particularly in critical-skill roles.
"Unfortunately, employers in Ireland do not see the situation improving in 2022 and a tighter labour market is persisting. As employers compete for talent, organisations are now increasingly looking for new ways to adapt to the new business environment and significant workforce changes."
In Association with
More than half of companies surveyed said they expect to focus on employee multi-skilling in the next three years, so staff could complete tasks across different jobs.
Meanwhile, in light of the shift to remote working during the pandemic, nearly half of companies expect their workforce to take part in remote or hybrid working over the next three years, with flexible work no longer a differentiator but becoming pervasive and expected among candidates.
"It was noteworthy that although technology will be a key part of this flexibility, the survey found that less than a third of organisations globally are effective at using technology or analytics to track and measure the skills of existing employees," WTW said.
McDonough added: "Here in Ireland, we would advise that there are overall additional actions that organisations can take to successfully recruit and retain talent.
"Employers are advised to broaden the reach and scope of their recruitment activity to identify new sources of talent, reskill and upskill existing team members, optimise job design, reset their rewards strategy, and look to deliver a more holistic employee experience.
"We know from our research that total reward is just one of the drivers of employee experience, and areas such as benefits, wellbeing, learning and career opportunities also play a critical role in creating an experience for employees that is differentiated and attractive.
"A strategically guided and tangible rewards programme that delivers value for employers and employees is paramount, regardless of sector or scale," she added.
(Pic: Getty Images)
